The KFC chicken crisis is finally over: it's (sort of) ditched DHL (2024)

KFC has sought to alleviate its troubles with chicken supply by renewing its contract with previous distribution partner Bidvest logistics, sharing responsibilities with DHL, the distributor which replaced it less than a month ago.

The agreement means that from March 26, Bidvest will take over supply for 350 restaurants in the north of the UK, while DHL and QSL continue with their own work in the south. Bidvest says that it will be conducting its work for KFC from a single location, its "northern depot", which is located in Royton, near Oldham in Greater Manchester.

Paul Whyte, from Bidvest's business unit, said his firm understood "the complexities of delivering fresh chicken." KFC said the switch would ease pressure on DHL's depot in Rugby that had been the source of recent problems. The fast food chain said it was now aiming to get its restaurants back to normal "as quickly as possible".

Read more: The inside story of the great KFC chicken shortage of 2018

To recap how all this began, KFC moved distributors at the end of last year, choosing DHL over its long-term partner Bidvest. On February 14, the day DHL took over, several factors – including DHL's decision to use a single depot, a motorway crash on the M6 right next to it, and an apparent lack of contingency planning – caused a backup of deliveries. This became acutely visible the following Sunday and Monday (March 18-19), when KFC had to close over 600 of its restaurants due to depleted supplies of ingredients. It has spent the last several weeks slowly reopening them.

Although KFC has left the headlines since then, things still haven't been perfect. While 97 per cent of restaurants are open, limited menus are still in place at some locations. There has also been recent reports of a new shortage, this time affecting gravy.

As well as a new contract with Bidvest, it also engaged the services of flexible warehousing startup Stowga, hiring a warehouse near Bristol at short notice to store its non-perishable supplies, thereby easing strain on the Rugby depot.

This article was originally published by WIRED UK